Controllable pitch propeller



May 31, 1966 c. J. SEMAN 3,253,659

CONTROLLABLE PITCH PROPELLER Filed Feb. 2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

GOLMAN J. SEMAN y 1956 c. J. SEMAN 3,253,659

CONTROLLABLE PITCH PROPELLER Filed Feb. 2. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. COLMAN J. SEMAN wJ M United States Patent 3,253,659 CONTROLLABLE PITCH PROPELLER Colman J. Seman, 1409 Springlake Drive, Erie, Pa. Filed Feb. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 429,784

2 Claims. (Cl. 170160.32)

This invention relates to propellers and, more particularly, to propellers for boats and the like.

The present invention discloses a boat propeller which is simple, eiiicient, economical, and which can be utilized on all types of boats without the need of expensive mechanisms and in which a simple blade pitch change mechanism substitutes for the ordinary reversing mechanism made up of a transmission or the like.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an improved reversible propeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved propeller mechanism for a boat or the like.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompaying drawing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial view of a boat showing the improved propeller installed thereon;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the propeller shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal cross sectional view of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but taken at right angles to the view shown in FIG. 4.

Now with more particular reference to the drawings, the propeller may be supported on a boat such as that shown in FIG. 1. The propeller shown has a housing with a front hub 11 and a rear hub 12. The rear hub is fixed to the strut 21 which is, in turn, fixed to the bottom of the boat. The drive shaft 13 may be supported at an intermediate part by means of a support bracket 22.

The propeller blades 14 and 15 extend laterally through suitable openings in opposite sides of the front hub 11. Suitable seals 60 keep water out. The shifting fork 16 is telescopically received on the rear end of the supporting boss 28 and supporting boss 28 is integrally fixed to the front hub 11. The drive shaft 13 extends into the supporting boss 28 and is fixed thereto so that the front hub rotates with the drive shaft.

The shifting fork 16 has laterally extending cars 35 with openings 36 which receive the journal portions 29 of the propeller blades 14 and 15. Thus, when the shifting fork is moved backward and forward guided on the supporting boss 28, it will act through the journal portions 29 which, in turn, are attached to the crank members 30 and will rotate the blades to change the pitch thereof. The rear hub 12 has a flange and bearings 17 which are received in a suitable groove in the rear of front hub 11. The front hub can rotate relative to the rear hub on the bearings 17. A piston 18 is received in a cylinder made up of chamber 25 in front of the piston 18 and chamber 26 to the rear of it. The piston 18 is attached by piston rod 27 to the thrust bearing 31 and thrust bearing 31 is fixed to the shifting fork 16 so that when the piston 18 moves backward or forward in the cylinder shown, it will cause the shifting fork 16 to reciprocate on the supporting boss 28.

Hydraulic lines 19 and are connected to the chambers and 26, respectively, and these hydraulic lines are Patented May 31, 1966 connected to a suitable source of hydraulic fluid under pressure so that the piston 18 can be caused to move in either direction in its cylinder. Rudder 40 may be swingably attached to the strut 21 by hinges 41 and actuated in a suitable manner.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the propeller shown has a housing made up of a front hub 111 and a rear hub 112 and intermediate housing 111'. A drive shaft 113 is fixed to rotate with a shifting fork 116. The shifting fork 116 is reciprocated in the housing by means of a piston 118 which, in turn,

reciprocates in the cylinder having chambers and 126. The piston 127 connects the piston 118 to the bearing 117.

The shifting fork has suitable grooved portions which receive journal portions 129 and which are attached to the crank members 130 of the propeller blades 114 and 115. The hydraulic lines 119 and 119' selectively connect hydraulic fluid under pressure to the chambers 125 and 126. Thus, by controlling the fluid in chambers 125 and 126, the piston 118 can be moved selectively in its cylinder and, through the piston rod 127, the shifting fork 116 can be shifted to cause the blades to rotate about their journal portions 129 in the front hub 111. The blades have crank and journal portions like the blades in FIGS. 2-4.

A strut 121 may be fixed to a boat at its upper end and to the rear hub 112 by means of the screws shown or any suitable fastening means.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which is to .be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A propeller comprising a hollow front hub,

a drive shaft attached to said front hub,

a supporting boss fixed to said front hub adjacent to said drive shaft and concentric to said drive shaft, a shifting fork in said front hub adapted to reciprocate in a direction generally parallel to said drive shaft,

said shifting fork having a bore therein receiving said boss, said shifting fork being slidably supported on said boss and guided thereon for reciprocation parallel to said shaft,

propeller blades supported on said front hub and extending therefrom generally perpendicular to said drive shaft and adapted to rotate about an axis generally perpendicular to said drive shaft to change the pitch thereof,

means on said propeller blades engaging said shifting fork and adapted to rotate said propeller blades about an axis perpendicular to said drive shaft when said shifting fork reciprocates,

a rear hub adapted to be supported on a boat,

said rear hub rotatably engaging said front hub,

a piston reciprocably supported in said rear hub,

a piston rod attached to said piston,

said piston rod engaging said shifting fork,

and means connected to said piston for reciprocating it whereby said shifting fork is reciprocated generally parallel to said drive shaft and the pitch of said propeller blades is changed.

2. The propeller recited in claim 1 wherein said means on said propeller blades engaging said shifting fork comprises crank means on the ends of said propeller blades extending laterally therefrom,

and means on said shifting fork engaged by said crank means,

3 4 said crank means having a journal disposed in said 2,377,457 6/1945 Stalker 170160.37 X means on said shifting fork whereby said propeller 2,704,991 3/1955 -Danie1son 170-160.4 X blades are rotated when said shifting fork is 2,931,443 4/1960 Pehrsson .Q 170160.32 reciprocated. 3,148,735 9/1964 Miller et a1. 170-160.34 X 5 3,173,343 3/1965 Berry 170160.32

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

2,355,039 8/1944 Eves 170--160.32 JULIUS E. WEST, Examiner. 

1. A PROPELLER COMPRISING A HOLLOW FRONT HUB, A DRIVE SHAFT ATTACHED TO SAID FRONT HUB, A SUPPORTING BOSS FIXED TO SAID FRONT HUB ADJACENT OF SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND CONCENTRIC TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT, A SHIFTING FORK IN SAID FRONT HUB ADAPTED TO RECIPROCATE IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT, SAID SHIFTING FORK HAVING A BORE THEREIN RECEIVING SAID BOSS, SAID SHIFTING FORK BEING SLIDABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID BOSS AND GUIDED THEREON FOR RECIPROCATION PARALLEL TO SAID SHAFT, PROPELLER BLADES SUPPORTED ON SAID FRONT HUB AND EXTENDING THEREFROM GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND ADAPTED TO ROTATE ABOUT AN AXIS GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT TO CHANGE THE PITCH THEREOF, MEANS ON SAID PROPELLER BLADES ENGAGING SAID SHIFTING FORK AND ADAPTED TO ROTATE SAID PROPELLER BLADES ABOUT ON AXIS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT WHEN SAID SHIFTING FORK RECIPROCATES, A REAR HUB ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A BOAT, SAID REAR HUB ROTATABLY ENGAGING SAID FRONT HUB, A PISTON RECIPROCABLY SUPPORTED IN SAID REAR HUB, A PISTON ROD ATTACHED TO SAID PISTON, SAID PISTON ROD ENGAGING SAID SHIFTING FORK, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PISTON FOR RECIPROCATING IT WHEREBY SAID SHIFTING FORK IS RECIPROCATED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND THE PITCH OF SAID PROPELLER BLADES IS CHANGED. 